Electrical connectors – Self aligning contact – Contact mounted in floating nonconductive holder
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-26
2003-07-15
Luebke, Renee (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Self aligning contact
Contact mounted in floating nonconductive holder
C439S248000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06592387
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Technical Field
The present invention is related to the interconnection of electronic devices. More particularly, this invention is related to a mounting scheme that allows the blind mating of electrical connectors in a tray to electrical connectors in a module that is inserted into the tray.
2. Background Information
Electrical connectors are used to interconnect electrical devices. There are many different types of electrical connectors in use today. For example, D-sub connectors are well-known in the part: they are very common, for example, in personal computers. A typical personal computer system contains several D-sub connectors, including serial ports, parallel printer ports, connections for a monitor, and game ports.
The operation of prior art D-sub connectors is shown in FIG.
1
.
FIG. 1
shows an exemplary pair of D-sub connectors that mate with each other. Female connector
100
is a connector with fifteen holes
102
. Each hole
102
may be connected to a lead to transmit and receive signals. Flange
104
surrounds the holes. Male connector
110
is a connector has fifteen pins
112
. It should be understood that female connector
100
need not have fifteen holes and male connector need not have fifteen pins. D-sub connectors are available with a wide range in the number of holes and pins available: 9-pin connectors and 25-pin connectors are also common. Each hole
102
may be connected to a lead to transmit and receive signals. Flange
114
surrounds the pins.
To establish a connection between female connector
100
and male connector
110
, one typically places flange
114
of male connector
110
such that it surrounds flange
104
of female connector
100
so that pins
112
are aligned with holes
102
. When male connector
110
is coupled to female connector
100
, several lines of communication will be established through a single connector. Typically, screws
116
and
118
may be provided in proximity with male connector
110
(e.g., within approximately 1 cm) such that screws
116
and
118
fit into nuts
106
and
108
, which are in proximity with female connector
100
. Screws
116
and
118
can be secured with nuts
106
and
108
so as to prevent an accidental disconnection.
Typically, after a user connects the D-sub connectors together, one can tighten the connection using screws. This tightening ensures that the connection is secure and the connection will not terminate inadvertently.
In certain situations, however, one is not able to manually secure such a connection. For example, certain aircraft systems, such as avionics and communications hardware, may be placed in modules that are inserted into trays contained that are located inside panels located in various areas of the aircraft, including the cockpit. The construction of these modules usually places connectors at the rear of the modules. The corresponding connectors are located at the rear of the tray in a wiring harness. Because of the placement of these connectors, access to the connectors may be restricted.
In an aircraft, modules are typically inserted into trays that are fixed in the cockpit and various other areas of the aircraft.
FIG. 2
illustrates an exemplary tray
200
into which a module is inserted. Tray
200
includes rear plate
210
. Attached to rear plate
210
is connector
212
. It should be noted that a rear plate may contain a plurality of connectors. To simplify the illustration of the tray, however, only one connector has been illustrated in FIG.
2
.
Referring now to
FIG. 3
, module
300
is illustrated as containing a display
302
. It should be understood, however, that there are many different types of modules with many different types of functions available. The modules typically contain one or more connectors located at the rear of the modules, such as connector
304
. Connector
304
connects with connector
212
, located on rear plate
210
of tray
200
. In order to couple connector
304
with connector
212
, module
300
is inserted into tray
200
.
One prior art method of inserting a module into a tray is as follows. A technician pulls a portion of the wiring harness out with the module and manually connects and secures the cables to the module. Thereafter, the module would be inserted into the tray. This can be a tedious process that may lead to several problems. For example, in pulling out the wiring harness to make the connection and inserting the module into the tray, it is possible to bend or break the cables. In addition, if the wiring harness is not correctly placed back into the tray, the module may not insert fully into the tray. Furthermore, the designers of the trays would have to provide room behind the tray for the slack of the wire to be stored when the module is fully inserted.
Because of the location of the connectors, it is impractical to visually align module
300
with tray
200
while inserting the module. It is therefore desirable to provide a device and technique to align the connectors blindly.
One prior art device for implementing a blind-mating technique is illustrated in FIG.
4
A. Similar to the connectors of
FIG. 1
, connector
400
contains a flange and a plurality of pins. Corresponding connector
402
also contains a flange and several holes. In order to allow a user to connect the module with the tray without manually manipulating the connectors, connector
402
contains guide pins
410
and
412
. The corresponding connector contains through holes
414
and
416
that align with guide pins
410
and
412
, respectively. The guide pins may or may not be tapered such that the end that first comes into contact with the through holes is the narrowest portion and the pin is thicker closer to connector
402
. As guide pins
410
and
412
first contact through holes
414
and
416
, the connectors start to become aligned with each other. As the connectors are pushed towards each other, the thicker portion of the guide pins is in contact with through holes
414
and
416
. The thicker portion of the guide pins has less freedom of movement within through holes
414
and
416
. Thus, there is a closer alignment between the connectors before the respective flanges interconnect.
Connector
400
of
FIG. 2
may be rigidly attached to the tray. Thus, connector
402
must move to the position of the connector
400
in order for the connection to occur. Because connector
402
is rigidly attached to the module, the entire module must be moved in order for the connectors to be aligned. Because of manufacturing inefficiencies, there are instances in which such an alignment is not possible.
Float bushings
420
may also be added to connector
400
. Float bushings
420
allow connector
400
to move or “float” within certain limits. Thus, the addition of float bushings adds tolerances to the connector system. Instead of only moving connector
410
to align with connector
400
as with the system without the float bushings, both connectors
400
and
410
move with respect to each other to establish a connection.
While the addition of float bushings
420
allows movement in two mutually perpendicular directions, there is no provision for movement in the front-back direction, the direction of the insertion of the module. This can lead to some problems with misalignment. Because of manufacturing tolerances, the front-back dimension of the modules are not always the same. Therefore, when a module is inserted into a tray, there may be a portion of the front of the module (the “bezel”) that protrudes from the face of the tray. Furthermore, there may be a situation where the module, when inserted fully into the tray, is not as long as required. Therefore, the connectors may not fully engage with each other and are more easily disconnected from one another due to vibrations, movement, accidental bumping, etc.
In addition, the use of float bushings may result in a connector that is no longer centered within its mounting holes. Because a typical tray and module are mounted such that the connectors are vertically oriented, the float b
Eller, Jr. John H.
Komenda Vernon A.
Larson Gary O.
Honeywell International , Inc.
Luebke Renee
Nguyen Phuongchi
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